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Reviews > Snow Gear > Crampons > Kahtoola Traction System - 2004 > Rebecca Sowards-Emmerd > Initial Report
Packaging and
Contents: The Kahtoola KTS
crampons arrived in a surprisingly small box. Inside the box there
was no extraneous packaging material - it simply contained the crampons
packed up tightly in their stuff sack, as they would be stored or be
carried in a pack. There was a hang tag attached to the storage
sack, as well as two sheets of information included in the box. One
of these sheets was a three panel brochure displaying the exact same
information as the website. The other sheet contains information
about fitting the crampons, care and maintenance, and warranty
information. The three panel brochure contains a few
paragraphs of general information about the crampons, a diagram of the
features, and a brief list of the materials used in the
construction. The text is the same as the text on the main website,
and the diagram is also the same as the product information on the
website. As on the website, the
text describes the purpose of the KTS crampons and how they are best
used. They are 10 point aluminum alloy crampons designed to be worn
with a variety of footwear in a variety of conditions, other than
technical mountaineering. Description of Kahtoola KTS
Crampons: I took out the crampons and examined them in
comparison to the diagram. My crampons look exactly the same as the
one in the picture. Moving from the back to the front, the crampon
contains several well-thought-out features. In the back there is a
folding heel support with heel grip to enhance packability and
comfort. A strap wraps around the heel and is attached using a
buckle. All webbing on the crampons is supposed to be water and
freeze resistant. The length adjustment is done with a tongue in the
heel, and can be done without the aid of tools, according to the
diagram. Stretching through the middle of the crampon is the
flexible extender bar. This bar is supposed to bend with the foot
while walking, and it is flexible enough that I can bend it
easily with my hands. Over the toe of the boot there is an 'X'
made by the webbing with a plastic guide to hold it in place. An
additional strap runs across the foot below the 'X' to tighten and adjust
the fit. Lastly, the spikes themselves are 3/4 of an inch (1.9 cm)
long and are not filed down to a sharp point. Perhaps the most obvious difference between
the Kahtoolas and other crampons I have seen is the fact that the front
two teeth point down rather than out at a 45 degree angle. Browsing
through the website, I quickly discovered through their FAQ that this is
on purpose - because of the flexibility of the extender bar, the front
teeth get better purchase when pointed down, or more technically, 15
degrees from perpendicular to the foot. In the picture below the
front teeth of the Kahtoolas are compared to the front teeth of technical
crampons. Notice that the teeth of the Kahtoolas are also a little
shorter. Stuff sack: The provided stuff sack is a nice
perk. The interior is PVC, providing protection from the crampon
points. It cinches at the top and has a loop for attaching it to the
exterior of a pack. There is a Kahtoola patch on the side of the
sack. The stitching on the seams is not straight or even and in one
location is causing the PVC to rip. I hope that the sack does
not fall apart with repeated packing of the crampons. Fitting: The crampons are each labelled for the
appropriate foot, but the shape of the crampons makes it
unnecessary. It is intuitive which one is the left and which one is
the right. I skipped reading the directions entirely and grabbed my
La Sportiva Makalu mountaineering boots out of the closet. These are
the boots I usually wear when I am snowshoeing. I held the crampon
up to my size 41 European boots and saw that in order to fit the boot
the crampon must be extended all the way. I lifted the peg and
adjusted the crampon to its longest length, and then I loosened
the straps at the toe. Then I inserted the toe of the boot into
the crampons. It was a very tight fit, and the 'X' that is
supposed to sit on the top of the foot was shoved up at the top of my
toes. I could barely set the heel into the crampon. I had a
moment of disappointment when I thought that my boots would not fit the
size small crampon, although I supposedly was well within the size range
when I picked my size. I examined the straps and saw that there was
more adjustment to the toe area than I initially thought. I expanded
the top straps slightly and was able to slide the boot in.
The picture above shows the crampons
strapped to my New Balance 475 trail runners and my La Sportiva Makalu
boots. Test plan: The Kahtoola KTS crampons will be used over
the next six month test period as conditions permit. I am impressed
with their light weight and packability, making them an easy addition to
any pack. I will be carrying them on backcountry snowshoe hikes for
use when conditions are icy, and even on well-used groomed trails.
When it hasn't snowed recently, groomed trails can be icy enough that
crampons are more appropriate. As the summer approaches I will
be carrying them in my pack when I venture into the high Sierra where
snow and ice can cover sections of trail late into the summer
months. I will be evaluating several features of the
crampons. First and foremost is stability. In order to trust
these crampons on icy and perhaps dangerous terrain, they must be stable
and secure. Second in importance to me is comfort. I have only
worn crampons in the past with heavy boots and I wonder if the
binding will pinch and be uncomfortable with a lighweight trail
runner. I will be paying special attention to the heel strap
when I am wearing below-the-ankle shoes. Rubbing and irritation is a
concern. Certain manufacturer claims will be
tested. For example, the straps are supposed to be water and freeze
resistant. The wet Sierra snow will definitely test this
claim. The crampons are supposed to be easy to adjust without any
tools, and I am hoping that they are simple enough that I can put them on
and take them off without removing gloves. I'm looking forward to trying these crampons
out on the snow and ice in the coming weeks and months! Read more reviews of Kahtoola gear Read more gear reviews by Rebecca Sowards-Emmerd Reviews > Snow Gear > Crampons > Kahtoola Traction System - 2004 > Rebecca Sowards-Emmerd > Initial Report | |||||||||||||||
On the website, the sizes are listed as S,
M and L with a mens shoe size range for each of the sizes. As my
shoe size is a mens 7.5 to 8, I thought I would fit well within the small
range which goes up to 9.5. The documentation that is included with
the crampons is much more specific. It turns out that the sizes on
the website are for hiking boots and trail shoes, and they give an
entirely different size range for bigger boots (such as snowboarding and
mountaineering boots). The small only goes up to a size 7 for this
bigger type of footwear. My leather Makalu boots aren't as big as
snowboarding or plastic mountaineering boots, but they are fairly bulky
and just barely fit. Knowing this now, I would have preferred a size
M, which overlaps with the S in range. Even my trail runners fit
tightly on the second to last peg.